SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. – Local 10 News spoke with the victim of a suspected kidnapping attempt in South Miami, who described what happened Thursday morning.
The teenage girl, who Local 10 News is not identifying, described seeing a car pulling up about 10 feet in front of her when a man got out and tried to take her. She said she was exercising late and admits she shouldn’t have been.
With a scratched face, Brian Gamboa, 32, faced a Miami-Dade County judge Thursday, facing battery and kidnapping charges. South Miami police said he pulled his car over near Southwest 86th Street and 62nd Avenue around 12:30 a.m. and attempted to take the 16-year-old.
The teenager claims Gamboa was telling her to be quiet as he was hitting her, throwing her to the ground, and trying to get her into his vehicle.
“He kept hitting me in the back of my head and punching my neck a lot and he tried to push me to the ground, and I got back up as quickly as possible,” she said. “That’s why my knees are messed up. I didn’t have movement in this one for like a day or so and then I got movement back in it.”
She continued, “He grabbed me. There, you can see his, like, his fingerprints right there and a scratch from him. And he ripped my shirt when I was trying (to fight him off). When I got up, he tried to grab my shirt and it ripped. And I ran.”
Police said Gamboa was involved in a minor hit-and-run later that night. The victim was able to identify him at that scene and confirm that he was the man who attacked her. Those actions likely saved her life.
Gamboa remains behind bars, held on a $30,000 bond.
The victim encouraged others not to walk that late and to always be aware of their surroundings.